Checklist of Student Research Skills

General

• Know what they don't know
• Know who to ask for research help
• Understand library jargon, eg., "peer-reviewed"

Research Process & Questions

• Follow a research process, e.g. Big 6
• Estimate time required for research
• Define a research question or topic that's not shallow

Searching for Information

• Find different formats of information
• Understand that Web search engines rarely locate college appropriate information
• Distinguish between Library Catalogs and online databases
• Conduct effective search using:Keywords, alternate search terms; Boolean terms, e.g., AND, OR; Controlled vocabulary, subject headings; Field searching, e.g., author, title
• Interpret search results, e.g., book chapters vs. article
• Find full text of articles
• Find books using Dewey Decimal and Library of Congress Classification
• Use Reference books in the library
• Regroup when first attempts to find resources do not work, e.g., try a different database or search strategy

Evaluating Information

• Weed through search results to find adequate and accurate information
• Evaluate information using standard evaluation criteria
• Distinguish between popular and scholarly articles
• Disregard inadequate or inaccurate information

Using Information

• Synthesize, communicate, and argue a thesis using evidence
• Analyze data and statistics
• Represent, analyze, and critique the words and ideas of others ethically
• Write without plagiarizing (accidentally or otherwise), e.g., use in-text citation
• Cite sources properly

Adapted from P.Owen & M. Oakleaf, "Using Evidence to Bridge the 12-13 Gap", OELMA 2008